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Best Activities This Week In Orange County - February 27

After an unusually wet winter, we're inching closer and closer to spring and warm weather. Until then, spend some time indoors with a variety of art, music and food-related events. This week brings a winter concert, a monthly dinner series featuring delicious wines, the opening of a new restaurant and an art exhibition showcasing work by women. Friday night brings an extravagant Beach Boys concert while the weekend is filled with wine and culinary expertise.
Monday, February 27
orchestra
(credit: Igor Bulgarin/shutterstock)

UCI Wind Ensemble Winter Concert
Winifred Smith Hall
Building 710
Irvine, CA 92626
(949) 824-4339
www.arts.uci.edu

Enjoy a night of free music during this annual event. UCI's Claire Trevor School of the Arts will present their winter concert on Monday night. Beginning at 8 p.m., the show, which is open to the public, features music by students who are part of the school's wind ensemble. With pieces written specifically for wind and percussion instruments—both small group songs and full symphonies—the concert will include both traditional and contemporary works. Kevin McKeown, the ensemble's conductor, will lead the show. Students must audition to become part of the ensemble, and may be music majors or non-music majors.

Tuesday, February 28
Wine Dinner  - Verified Ashley
(Credit: Simon Nicholls)

Wine Dinner Series
Bluegold
21016 Pacific Coast Highway
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
(714) 374-0038
www.dinebluegold.com

A monthly wine series at Pacific City's Bluegold presents a variety of culinary and beverage options. This month, the experience features drinks from Napa Valley-based Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. In the second installment of this now-monthly event, which runs through the end of the year, Jorge Valines will offer a three-course prix-fixe menu for $88. The dishes are designed to complement the wines presented by Stag's Leap. Additionally, a representation from the winery will lead a lesson in wine appreciation. The March 22 dinner will feature Veuve Clicquot while subsequent months will incorporate wines from Scarpa Northern Italian Wines and The Prisoner Wine Co.

Wednesday, March 1
Porto's Bakery - Buena Park - VERIFIED Ashley
(credit: Porto's Bakery)

Attend The Opening Of The New Porto's Bakery
Porto's Bakery & Cafe
7640 Beach Boulevard
Buena Park, CA 90620
(714) 367-2030
www.portosbakery.com

Gather in Buena Park to celebrate the grand opening of one of Los Angeles' favorite restaurants and bakeries. The grand opening party will start at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and includes a ribbon-cutting ceremony; directly following, the restaurant will officially open for business. The first O.C. location will offer special giveaway bags to the first 500 customers. The restaurant serves a variety of soups, salads and sandwiches aside from their bakery items like cakes, bread, pastries and other sweet treats. Their most popular items include their stuffed potato balls and cheese rolls, incorporating recipes with Cuban influence.

Thursday, March 2
women-in-art-joanne-delomba - Verified Ashley
(Credit: Joanne Delomba)

See "Women in Art"
Las Laguna Gallery
577 South Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 667-1803
www.laslagunagallery.com

Starting Thursday, Las Laguna Gallery will host the Women in Art exhibition featuring works by female artists. Artists Alisa Proctor, Hannah Reinhard, Kirsten Van Mourick, Melinda Smith and guest artist Tracy Anderson, among others, will showcase pieces that range from acrylic and oil paintings to those featuring collages, drawings, new and mixed media, pastels and photography. An artist reception will be held that night from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., but the exhibit will run through March 31. Artists from across the country submitted pieces for the showcase, inspired by famous female artists like Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keeffe.

Friday, March 3
beach boys
(credit: Shirley Faherty/shutterstock)

See The Beach Boys Live
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 556-2787
www.scfta.org

The famous Beach Boys will perform at Segerstrom Center for the Arts this Friday and Saturday night. Joined by the Pacific Symphony, which will be conducted by Richard Kaufman, the event will celebrate the fun, breezy music that the group has been known for throughout the years. With songs like "California Girls," "Kokomo," "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Good Vibrations," their music is reminiscent of summertime, sunshine and California surf. This concert will be just one on their long list, as they have currently performed more concerts than any other rock band in history. Tickets start at $35.

Saturday, March 4
Napa In Newport - Verified Ashley
(Credit: Ann Chatillon/CureDuchenne)

Napa in Newport
Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel
1 Ritz-Carlton Drive
Dana Point, CA 92629
www.napainnewport.org

Now in its third year, the annual Napa in Newport event is a highly anticipated wine auction that raises money to help find a cure for a fatal disease called Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Benefiting non-profit CureDuchenne, the event features honorary co-chairs, the deLeuze family, owners of ZD Wines. More than 30 Napa wineries will present labels at Napa in Newport, including those like Continuum Estate, Bure Family Wines, Handwritten Wines and Vineyard 29. Aside from the wine auction, attendees will enjoy a three-course meal cooked by famed Amar Santana, chef of Vaca and Broadway, that will be complemented with wine pairings. The reception and silent auction begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the live auction at 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 5
OC Restaurant Week  - Verified Ashley
(Credit: OC Restaurant Week)

Celebrate Orange County Restaurant Week
Various Locations
www.ocrestaurantweek.com

Celebrate the culinary treasures of Orange County with O.C. Restaurant Week. Starting on Sunday, the event will run until March 11, offering plenty of opportunities for locals to check out the restaurants they they've been meaning to try—or those they already love. Special prix fixe menus offer lunch for $10, $15 and $20 per person or dinner for $20, $30, $40 and $50 per person. Additional $80 luxe dinner menus are available as well. Participating restaurants include those all across the county, including Skyloft, Sushi Roku, the Rusty Pelican, Bruno's Italian Kitchen, Seasons 52, Yard House and more.

Ashley Ryan is an Orange County native that loves traveling, live music and photography. She blogs at Pure Wander and freelances for a variety of publications including Newport Beach Magazine and Laguna Beach Magazine.
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